Craig Meehan, a supermarket fishmonger, appeared before magistrates in Dewsbury today.

The 22-year-old denies 11 charges which allege he had 140 indecent images of children aged between four and 16, graded at levels one to four - on a scale where one is the least serious and five the most.

They were allegedly found on one of two computers at the family home in Dewsbury Moor where he lived with Karen Matthews, 32, for around five years.

Shannon went missing on February 19 and was discovered hidden in the base of a bed in a flat just one mile from her home after a massive 24-day search by police.

Meehan's uncle Michael Donovan, 39, of Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr, has been charged with Shannon's kidnap and imprisonment.

He will go on trial at Leeds Crown Court on November 11 alongside Matthews, who is charged with child neglect and perverting the course of justice.

Meehan has also been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice in connection with the alleged abduction of the nine-year-old and was bailed pending further inquiries.

Other members of Meehan's family have also been arrested and bailed by officers investigating Shannon's disappearance.